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China's Lantern Festival

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Citizens watch a parade at Nanhou Street in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province on Feb. 24. The lantern festival, held on the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, commemorates the end of Chinese New Year's celebrations. Xinhua/Zhang Guojun/Newscom

Neon gates are seen at Nanhou Street in Fuzhou on Feb. 24. The festival dates back centuries, to at least the sixth century's Sui Dynasty. Xinhua/Zhang Guojun/Newscom

Thousands of lanterns decorate the city to commemorate the upcoming lantern festival on Feb. 22 in Leshan, Sichuan province of China. The lantern festival marks the last day of the Chinese lunar new year celebrations and falls on Feb. 28 this year. Zhong Min/ChinaFotoPress/Newscom

Two thousand lanterns decorate the outside wall of a shopping mall on Feb. 22 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China. On the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, the Chinese people will eat rice glue balls and appreciate lanterns. Li Er/ChinaFotoPress/Newscom

Villagers watch Chinese traditional folk dance during a local folk temple fair as part of celebrations for the upcoming Lantern Festival in Xinjiang County, northern China's Shanxi Province on Feb. 22. Xinhua/Gao Xinsheng/Newscom

A man looks to the side under a display of lanterns in Shanghai on Feb. 18, during the Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year. The annual celebration sees families around the country of 1.3 billion reunite and attend traditional temple fairs. Philippe Lopez/AFP/Newscom

Lanterns hang prior to the Lantern Festival. Newscom

A woman carrying her baby selects and buys various kinds of lanterns for the upcoming Lantern Festival on Feb. 21 in Nanjing, Jiangsu province of China. Zuma/Newscom

Staff members of Beijing's Administration for Industry and Commerce inspect the quality of Tangyuan, small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour and sweet fillings, ahead of the Lantern Festival at a market in Beijing on Feb. 23. The aim of the inspection carried out recently is to make sure that people eat good-quality Tangyuan during the festival. Zhang Xu/Newscom

Folk artists perform a dragon dance to celebrate the coming Lantern Festival at Zhaidi Village of Quanzhou County, in southwestern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 22. Xinhua/Newscom

A woman and her child select and buy various kinds of lanterns for the upcoming Lantern Festival on Feb. 21 in Huaibei, Anhui province of China. Wang Wen/ChinaFotoPress/Newscom

A group of women drum players perform a Chinese traditional drum dance during a local folk temple fair as part of celebrations for the upcoming Lantern Festival in Xinjiang County, northern China's Shanxi Province on Feb. 22. Xinhua/Gao Xinsheng/Newscom

Tourists observe the illuminated festival lanterns on Feb. 22, in Fuzhou, Fujian province of China. Children will go out at night to temples carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns during the lantern festival. It officially ends the Chinese New Year celebrations. Zuma/Newscom

Villagers perform a dragon dance with a 400-foot-long dragon lantern set consisting of more than 300 lanterns and nearly 100 wooden benches at Qinghua village of Wuyuan county, eastern China's Jiangxi Province on Feb. 21, the eighth day of the Chinese Year of Tiger. Local villagers usually perform dragon dances on the fifth, seventh, and eighth day, of the year praying for a good harvest. Wang Guohong/PTS/Newscom